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Eating Clubs and “The Street”
Dear Mr. Mudd: Q. What are “eating clubs”? Did F. Scott Fitzgerald make them up? What is “The Street”? A. Princeton alumnus F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise (1920) gave the world a glimpse into the exclusive social enclaves known as the Princeton eating clubs through the eyes of fictional student Amory Blaine.…
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The History of the Princeton University Senior Thesis
The senior thesis has been a requirement of all undergraduate students at Princeton University since 1926. During a Faculty Meeting on February 19th, 1923, the Committee on the Course of Study submitted a report for a new study plan known as the “Four Course Plan.” The four course plan called for an extensive reading program for…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 27-May 3
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a dorm pioneers indoor plumbing, students look for ways to protest peacefully, and more. April 27, 1877—Witherspoon Hall is completed. It is the first dormitory in the country with indoor plumbing.
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“This Ceremony Was Not Sanctioned”: Gay Marriage at Princeton
With the policy that young lovers of the same sex may no longer sign the marriage register and that Michael Beer and Jason Rudy will have a retractory asterisk placed by their entry, neither side of the aisle gets what it wants. … No one who has attended ours, the most pragmatic of all universities,…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 20-26
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, a member of the original House of Nassau visits campus, emails about Hillary Clinton clog inboxes, and more. April 21, 1920—The Daily Princetonian reports on a new fashion trend: “Blue denim has at last…
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Princeton Mourns Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. exactly 150 years ago. As Americans did throughout the country, Princetonians immediately went into mourning. The loss was more profound given that the nation had emerged from a devastating Civil War less than a week before. Princeton’s ties to Lincoln are reflected in various collections…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 13-19
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Princetonians win the equivalent of six medals at the first modern Olympic Games, Albert Einstein dies, and more. April 13, 1994—David Remnick ’81 wins the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for his book, Lenin’s…
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“The Present Unsettled State of Our Country”: Princeton and the Civil War
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the end of Civil War, a conflict that had implications for every facet of American life. The “unhappy condition of the country,” as the College of New Jersey (Princeton) President John Maclean described it in 1861, had a profound impact on the school. Here we highlight the mass exodus of southern students…
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This Week in Princeton History for April 6-12
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series bringing you the history of Princeton University and its faculty, students, and alumni, Prohibition ends, the Board of Trustees urges parents not to send students money, and more. April 6, 1771—The Rittenhouse Orrery, the most noted scientific instrument of its time, arrives in Nassau Hall, where it…
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